Pale Ale Malt

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jwalker1140

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2011
Messages
593
Reaction score
68
Location
Glendale
I'd like to brew two beers that use Pale Ale Malt: Mirror Pond (the CYBI recipe) and Goose Island Green Line. Mirror Pond uses Great Western and Green Line uses Briess. My LHBS doesn't carry either of those so I'm hoping someone can suggest something similar from the following list base malts they do carry. Thanks!

GOLDEN PROMISE, 2.3L - 3.0L, THOMAS FAWCETT & SONS. A Plae Ale base malt, grown in Scotland. Produces a sweet, mellow wort. Excellent for general brewing and distilling.
ENGLISH PALE. Maris Otter 2-row, 4L, low protein, well modified, low D.P..
BELGIAN EXPORT PALE. 2-row, 4L, well modified, 10% low Total protein, 4% Soluble protein, low D.P..
GAMBRINUS ESB PALE. 2-row Harrington, well modified, 3L, 10.9% low Total protein, 5% Soluble protein, high, 120 D.P..
BRIESS 6-ROW. Mid-western, high D.P..
GREAT WESTERN 2-ROW. 3L, 50% Klages/50% Harrington, low protein, high D.P..
GERMAN PILSNER 2-ROW. 3L, 11% low Total protein, 4.4% Soluble protein, moderate D.P..
BELGIAN PILSNER 2-ROW. 2L, 10% low Total protein, 4% Soluble protein, moderate D.P..
GAMBRINUS PALE 2-ROW. 3L, 100% Harrington, 10.9% low Total protein, 5% Soluble protein, 120 high D.P..
ASHBURNE MILD. Well suited for mild ale beers for color and maltiness. Imparts smooth sweet flavor while also adding a full malty flavor. 86 D.P.
 
Pale Ale Malt is the American equivalent of Marris Otter. It's kilned just a little longer to the 3-4L range. Substitute Marris Otter.
 
I'd like to brew two beers that use Pale Ale Malt: Mirror Pond (the CYBI recipe) and Goose Island Green Line. Mirror Pond uses Great Western and Green Line uses Briess. My LHBS doesn't carry either of those so I'm hoping someone can suggest something similar from the following list base malts they do carry. Thanks!

GOLDEN PROMISE, 2.3L - 3.0L, THOMAS FAWCETT & SONS. A Plae Ale base malt, grown in Scotland. Produces a sweet, mellow wort. Excellent for general brewing and distilling.
ENGLISH PALE. Maris Otter 2-row, 4L, low protein, well modified, low D.P..
BELGIAN EXPORT PALE. 2-row, 4L, well modified, 10% low Total protein, 4% Soluble protein, low D.P..
GAMBRINUS ESB PALE. 2-row Harrington, well modified, 3L, 10.9% low Total protein, 5% Soluble protein, high, 120 D.P..
BRIESS 6-ROW. Mid-western, high D.P..
GREAT WESTERN 2-ROW. 3L, 50% Klages/50% Harrington, low protein, high D.P..
GERMAN PILSNER 2-ROW. 3L, 11% low Total protein, 4.4% Soluble protein, moderate D.P..
BELGIAN PILSNER 2-ROW. 2L, 10% low Total protein, 4% Soluble protein, moderate D.P..
GAMBRINUS PALE 2-ROW. 3L, 100% Harrington, 10.9% low Total protein, 5% Soluble protein, 120 high D.P..
ASHBURNE MILD. Well suited for mild ale beers for color and maltiness. Imparts smooth sweet flavor while also adding a full malty flavor. 86 D.P.

It appears you can get the Great Western (3L) 2-Row pale malt. Their other 2-Row is about 2L (link below). You should verify with your LHBS what they carry because the differences in color are small and could be mislabeled.

http://greatwesternmalting.com/our-products/bulk-malts

You probably can't go wrong with malts #1-#4 & #6 (if it truely is the 3L pale ale malt).
 
Guys, thanks for the replys. Re: the Great Western 2-row, I think the info above (copied from their website) is wrong and is actually 2L. That's their main domestic 2-row, which they sell for less than every other malt. Everything else is in bins but the GW is left in the sacks with big scoops. I was under the impression that MO was darker than domestic Pale Ale Malt, but I do love the taste of it. I've never used Golden Promise or the Gambrinus ESB Pale but I was wondering if they might be pretty close.
 
Guys, thanks for the replys. Re: the Great Western 2-row, I think the info above (copied from their website) is wrong and is actually 2L. That's their main domestic 2-row, which they sell for less than every other malt. Everything else is in bins but the GW is left in the sacks with big scoops. I was under the impression that MO was darker than domestic Pale Ale Malt, but I do love the taste of it. I've never used Golden Promise or the Gambrinus ESB Pale but I was wondering if they might be pretty close.

Gambrinus Pale would not work.

Gambrinus ESB Pale Malt will. Their ESB malt is a 3.5-4L malt that's meant to mimic English Pale or Marris Otter.

It's the 'Pale Ale Malt' you are looking for. Seriously though, Enligsh Pale, Gambrinus ESB, or any base malt in the 3.5L to 4L range is what you want.
 
+1 on the esb malt. Marris otter is a great malt, but the pale ale malt isnt quite as flavorful, imo.
 
I'd be more concerned if you weren't going to dump a truckload of hops in your brew. As is, the subtle differences between pale malts are going to be pretty minor player in the flavor mix of a bold IPA.
 
My LHBS charges the same rate for "premium" base malts and specialty malts. With that in mind, for every 100% Pale Ale Malt, you can sub roughly 93% 2-row and 7% Victory/Biscuit. I'm not going to say it's an exact match, but it will give you similar toasty/bready flavors, gravity and color. As noted by Billl, any minor differences will probably be obscured by the aggressive hopping.
 
I'd be more concerned if you weren't going to dump a truckload of hops in your brew. As is, the subtle differences between pale malts are going to be pretty minor player in the flavor mix of a bold IPA.

I believe it was noted in the CYBI recipe for Mirror Pond that the GW Pale Ale malt did make a difference. Your mileage may vary.
 
I believe it was noted in the CYBI recipe for Mirror Pond that the GW Pale Ale malt did make a difference. Your mileage may vary.

And that's what I recall too. This recipe certainly has some hops but it's by no means an IPA. The grain bill for Goose Island Green Line is 100% Briess Pale Ale Malt and it only has 30 IBUs so I think the choice of malt, for this beer even more so than for Mirror Pond, will be key. Thanks all for the input. I'm continuously learning.....
 
You could always order from the "Jamil Show" Sponsor, Northern Brewer. They sponsor the show and always have all the ingredients for the CYBI recipes....just saying :)
 
You could always order from the "Jamil Show" Sponsor, Northern Brewer. They sponsor the show and always have all the ingredients for the CYBI recipes....just saying :)

I live close to Northern Brewer and they do not have Great Western Pale Malt actually. They do have Rahr Pale Malt and a lot of the English Pale Malts listed in the original post.

Midwest Supplies has Briess Pale Malt and the English ones too.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top